Over the years, we have had a fantastic range of PhD and MSc candidates in ARITOX. Below is a list of HDR candidates who have moved on to new careers – we wish them all the best and hope they keep in touch!
Former HDR Candidates
Dr Matt Johnson
Dr Matt Johnson completed his PhD with Kim, Jason and Fred on the development of bioanalytical tools for direct toxicity assessment in 2026. Matt, who runs his own successful business, is still involved with several projects, and our resident expert in high throughput cell imaging!
Dr Sana Ajaz
Dr Sana Ajaz completed her PhD with Fred, Prasad, Ruby and Ashraf on an exploration of new methods to support bioremediation of contaminants of emerging concerns in 2026.
Dr Kushani Perera
Dr Kushani Perera completed her PhD with Shima and Fred on the occurrence, fate and risk of airborne microplastics in 2024. Kushani’s research received significant media attention, in particular her work on exposure to airborne microplastics in childcare environment (media, scientific publication).
Julia Smith
Julia started her PhD at ARITOX with Liesbeth, Jason and Fred, focused on shark toxicology. She has collaborated with several members of the group on microplastics and heavy metals. In 2023, Julia returned to the US.
Dr Gulsah Dogruer
Dr Gulsah Dogruer did her PhD with Jason, Liesbeth and Fred on assessing the impact of chemical exposure on the health of coastal marine wildlife through toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics. After graduating in 2022, Gulsah joined the Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS) at Utrecht University as a researcher.
Dr Steph Chaousis
Dr Steph Chaousis did her PhD at ARI-TOX with Jason and Fred, focusing on “Methods for the development of non-destructive proteomic biomarkers of chemical contaminant exposure in threatened wildlife”. After graduating in 2019, Steph joined the City of the Gold Coast as an environmental scientist.
Dr Shima Ziajahromi
Dr Shima Ziajahromi did her PhD at ARITOX with Fred and Peta, focusing on “Indentification and quantification of microplastics in wastewater treatment plant effluent”. After graduating in 2019, Shima was awarded an Advance Queensland Fellowship, and she is current working in ARI-TOX as a postdoc (see here).
Dr Kimberly Finlayson
Dr Kim Finlayson graduated in 2019 at ARITOX with Jason and Fred, focusing on “Development, validation and application of an in vitro toxicological model for sea turtles”. Kim is currently working in ARI-TOX as a postdoc (see here).
Erik Prochazka
Erik did his PhD at ARITOX with Fred on “Investigating health effects of disinfection by-products using cell-based -omics approaches”. In 2019, Erik returned to Europe to work in the Regulatory Testing division of PETA.
Dr Phil Scott
Dr Phil Scott did his PhD with Fred from 2010 to 2014, focusing on an ARC Linkage project “Survey of endocrine disruption in the Australian aquatic environment”. After graduation, Phil moved to Denmark to join Novo Nordisk as a chemist.